Ok...weighed in and took measurements this morning....I've started. Let's see where this takes me. Just finished the oatmeal smoothie...tastes ok but not crazy about texture.

I'm not really a fan of her recipes. I've been mostly doing my own thing, just keeping with her rules. My favorite meal is actually a phase 2 one. I've been making kebabs with sirolin, grape tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and onion. I marinade it in a concoction of apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and lemon juice. I only marinade them for about 30 mintues (sometimes longer if my husband is running late). Then we cook them on the grill.

She has way too many soup recipes which hold zero appeal right now when it's 90 degrees outside.

I'm honestly not measuring. I'm pretty sure I'm having more than her portions at some points (dinner) and less at others (breakfast). I just eat until I'm satisfied and stop. Since nothing tastes that great without fat it's much easier to walk away from food. There's nothing on this plan I want to eat for the taste, at least not in phases 1 and 2. So far, if I lose weight it is during those phases and in phase 3 I am lucky to maintain. I lost a 8.6 pounds in the first week, but only 1.2 pounds in the second. We'll see what happens this week...

Well, I survived 2 more parties; a work lunch and my brother in law's birthday. I successfully avoided pizza, cake and booze for another day. I'm down another 1.4 pounds.

TBH, I don't care what anyone thinks of my weighing daily. When I don't do it, I gain. It is that simple. I've been working on this weight loss thing for over 20 years. Daily weighing is one thing that works for me and I am not going to stop doing it. I'm hoping that by tracking it consistently for a longer period I will be able to figure out when I have natural fluctuations. So, that's that.

Life is not quite as much fun when you can't join in on food and drinks, but I guess that's just how my life has to be if I ever want to be a "healthy" weight. Frankly, I was pretty depressed when I got home yesterday because despite doing well on this plan for me, seeing all of my slim friends, family and coworkers just emphasizes how far I still have to go and how far from normal I actually am.

Hey Nikita,

I just want to say that I clicked into your jewellery link in your sig and I can't see your body, but you have a beautiful face, and in addition you're clearly very talented. When you feel down about your weight, try to remember that

Everyone will see something different when they look at you - and honestly, other people's weight isn't as important to anyone's as their own is.

And keep the faith! If this diet really is improving your metabolism, the weight loss is going to come with a myriad of other benefits. Start looking out for them

"I think the basic anti-aging diet is also the best diet for prevention and treatment of diabetes, scleroderma, and the various "connective tissue diseases." This would emphasize high protein, low unsaturated fats, low iron, and high antioxidant consumption, with a moderate or low starch consumption.

In practice, this means that a major part of the diet should be milk, cheese, eggs, shellfish, fruits and coconut oil, with vitamin E and salt as the safest supplements."

I'm honestly not measuring. I'm pretty sure I'm having more than her portions at some points (dinner) and less at others (breakfast). I just eat until I'm satisfied and stop. Since nothing tastes that great without fat it's much easier to walk away from food. There's nothing on this plan I want to eat for the taste, at least not in phases 1 and 2. So far, if I lose weight it is during those phases and in phase 3 I am lucky to maintain. I lost a 8.6 pounds in the first week, but only 1.2 pounds in the second. We'll see what happens this week...

I looked at the review of the diet and one of the reviewers calculated that it's like 600-800 cals a day diet for the first 4 days. How are your hunger levels? I normally start chewing furniture on below 1000 cals by 4 pm on the second day.

Here is the quote from the review:

Now, I spent about an hour breaking down 1 day of each phase to give you the calorie count of the suggested menu using the recipes given by the author. The calories are for the serving sizes given if you want to lose 20 pounds or less, regardless of your age, sex or weight.

Phase 1 (you are on it for 2 days out of the week)
Breakfast 127 calories
Snack 40 calories
Lunch 158 calories
Snack 53 calories
Dinner 390 calories total 768 calories for the day

Phase 2 (you are on it for 2 days out of the week)
Breakfast 74 calories
Snack 88 calories
Lunch 218 calories
Snack 118 calories
Dinner 174 calories total 672 calories for the day

Phase 3 (you are on it for 3 days out of the week)
Breakfast 254 calories
Snack 60 calories
Lunch 197 calories
Snack 258 calories
Dinner 438 calories total 1,207 calories for the day

Just in case you don't believe me, I will give you a recipe from the book with the calories.